Puanograph



J. T. POWERS.

PERMUTATIDN,LOCK FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. l9, I9I8.

Patented Oct. 21, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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FERMUTATION LOCK FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED 8.12, 19I8.

Patented Oct. 21, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

am'vemfoz T J OWERS 51 NITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN T. POWERS, 0F TACOMA, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOR TO THE JONES-POWERS CARBURETOIB, COMPANY, OF DENVER, COLORADO, A. CORPORATION OF COLO- RADO.

PERMUTATION-LOCK FOR AUTOMOBILES. I

Specification'of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 19, 1918 Serial No. 218,039.

T0 all/whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN T. POWERS, citizen of the United States, residing at Tacoma, county of Pierce and State of lVashington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Permutation-Locks for Automobiles; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to-the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification. My invention relates toimprovements in looks for automobiles, my object being to provide a lock which shall be mountedupon the gear shiftlever, or the lever for controlling the transmission mechanism, said lock being so constructed and arranged that it will secure the lever in the neutral position, thus making" it impossible for a thief or an evilly disposed person to make use of the machine. i

-My improved lock mechanism is mounted upon ablock which is vertically adjustable on the lever, being normally spring held in the unlocked position, the block having a depending member adapted to enter one of the slots in which the lever must operate-in order to adjust the gearing of the transmission so that the machine can travel, and when this depending part is secured in en gagement with said slot the lever is locked in the neutral position. My improved lock mechanism is of such character that when properly adjusted it. serves to hold the block in the locking position against thenormal tension or stress of its spring. The locking feature consists of a spindlebolt whichis endwise movable in the lock casing and is also adapted to enter perforations formed in" the lever whenthe block .is in either position 'of adjustment. g i. v V

An important feature of my improvement consists in the fact that the opening in the lock casing through which the lockingbolt passes, is eccentrically arranged with reference to the axis upon which the casing must turn in order to unscrew it from a threaded member carried by the block, the opening in the lever andthethreaded part of the block being also arrangedbeyond the axis on whichthe casing rotates. V Having briefly outlined my improvement,

proved lock applied to the gear in dotted lines.

I will proceed to describe the same in detail,

reference being made to the accompanying drawing, which is illustrated an embodiment thereof. In this drawing: g

Figure 1 is a front elevation of my'imshift lever of an automobile, the lever being shown in two positions, one in full lines and the other Fig. 2 is a section taken .on the line 2-2, Fig. 1, looking toward the right. v v Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 3+3, Fig.2.looking'downwardly;

Fig. l is a perspective view of thelock shown in position for lockingthe lever .in the neutral position, shown scale than in the previous views. I

Fig. 5 is afront elevation of the lock mounted ,on the. lever,

rows 6..v

' Fig. 7 is a sectiontaken on the line 7+7,

. 6, viewed in the direction of the arrows.

F 1g. 8 is a section takenon the line 8-8 Fig. 6.

. Fig. 9 is, a central vertical section taken through the lock mechanism and the lever Patented 'oet. 21, 1919.

V the *latter. being partly broken away and the parts'shownpn afstill larger scale. I l g taken ,on the line 6-6,

on' a larger on the line 99, Fig. '5 looking toward the 7 left.

7 The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the views v Let the numeral 5; designate the lock mechanisni considered in its entirety and consisting of a casing 6"having an interiorly threaded part 7 ooeperating with an exteriorly threaded base8, the latter being secured'to a block 9 by screws lOwhich' are concealed when the parts ofthejlockare in the assembled relation. The block 9. is pro-' vided with an opening 4 through which the lever 12 passes, and ,whereby'the block is normallyslidable on the lever in the lengthwise directio'ni Thelower extremity,l3 of passes. Whenthe block is in position withi in the slotl l, the lever isin the neutralpothe block isshaped to enter a slot 14 formed sition andcannot be moved into any other 7 position, since the part1?) is too wide to pass through the. openlng 16,, Y and consequently,

the lever cannot enter the other slot .17 of the plate," Again,-when theblockis inert-1 0 gagement with the slot 14, the lever is locked against movement in a direction parallel with either ofthe slots 14 or 17 by the partition members 18 and 19 which are on opposite sides of the opening 16.

The block 9 and the lock mechanism are normally held in position to release the lever by a spiral spring 20, one extremity of which is secured to the lever, as shown at 21, while the opposite extremity is secured to the block, as shown at 22, and is under tension to lift the block and lock mechanism to the position shown by full lines in Fig. 1, permitting the movement of the lever'12 for adjusting the transmission mechanism in the same manner as if the block were not employed.

The lock casing is composed of a cylindric-al part 23 whose outer wall is concentric with the axis or longitudinal center of a locking bolt 24. Furthermore, the casing is provided with acrescent shaped extension 25 which is offset from the inner extremity of the part 23, as shown at 26. The circumference of this crescent shaped part is tangential to the casing part 23 at a point 27. The threaded connection between the casing and the part 8 of the block is formed by turning the casing on an axis conforming to the center from which a circle coinciding with the circumference of the enlarged base of the casing is struck. Hence, this center is beyond the axis of the bolt 24. In Figs. 5 and 7 I have designated dotted circles 28 which are struck from the axis upon which the casing must turn in order to connect it with or disconnect it from the block member of the lock, the circle 28 being formed with a radius equal to the distance between the center of the enlarged base and the axis or longitudinal center of the bolt. By reference to Figs. 5 and 7 it will be clear that the casing could not be connected with or disconnected from the block while the bolt 24 is in place, since if this were possible, the axis of the bolt would have to travel in a path indicated by the dotted circle 28. Hence, the bolt must be removed from the lever and the block before the lock casing can be disconnected from the block. Hence, it is necessary that the permutation devices be so adjusted as to permit the endwise unlocking movement of the bolt before the lock casing can be detached from the block.

Within the lock casing is located and secured a member 29 which is secured to the shell of the casing by means of screws 30 which are inserted from the inside, the screws passing through the inner plate 31 which, as shown in the drawing, is integral with the outer wall of the casing structure. The casing also has a cap or top member 32 which is secured within the cylindrical shell part 23 in any suitable or convenient manner. Hence, the structure composed of the parts 23, 26, 29, 31 and 32 maybe considered an integral device for the purpose of this specification and may be referred to generally as the lock case. This case is bored as shown at 33, to receive a number of spindles 34, three of these spindles being shown in the drawing. Each spindle protrudes from the case and is equipped with an enlarged cap 35 which is secured to the spindle by a suitable fastening device 36. The inner extremity of each spindle is expanded to form a disk shaped permutation member 37 which is provided with ten perforations 38. To the inner face of each member 37 is applied a lockin disk 39 which is provided with apin 40 ac apted to enter any one of the perforations 38 of the member 37. The combination of the lock is changed by removing a disk 37 and changing the perforation 38 which is engaged by the pin 40. Each disk 39 has a slight concavity 41 in its edge, which when the disk is properly adjusted will allow the bolt 24 to move endwise in the lock case and also in the block and lever which as heretofore de scribed, are provided with openings which register with those in the case, to receive the bolt. At all other times, except when the recess 41 of each disk is adjacent the bolt 24, the latter is locked against endwise movement, since the edges of the disk 39 engage. a circumferential recess '42 of the bolt.

The part 29 of the lock case has a recess 43 formed therein in front of each permutation member 37, in which is located a spiral spring 44 which acts upon a small ball 45 which partly enters each perforation 38 of the corresponding perforated member, as the spindle is actuated to bring the perforations 38 successively into register with the recess 43. By virtue 'of this construction there is an audible click every time a perforation 38 is brought into position to receive the corresponding spring-actuated ball 45. By virtue of this arrangement the operator, who understands the combination of the lock, may readily adjust the locking disks 39 to bring the recesses 41 all into position adj acent the bolt in order to release the latter and permit the necessary endwise movement to unlock the lever. Each permutation member 37 is provided with a stop pin 46 which projects into a cavity 48 formed in the case part 29. A second stop pin 49 is located in the part 29 and also projects into the cavity 48 and is located in the path of the pin 46 when the permutation member is rotated.

Hence, before solving the combination, the

perforation 38 of the permutation member located the desired distance from the bolt, so that when the spindle is turned in the opposite direction from that just referred to, a certain number of clicks will be heard in order to bring the recess 41 adjacent the bolt. It should be explained that the pin 40 of the locking disk is adjacent the recess 41 of said disk, so that by dropping the pin 40 into the first, second or third perforation 38, for instance, from the one adjacent the bolt, the operator will know the number of clicks that must be heard when adjusting any locking disk in order to bring the latter into position to solve the combination.

Attention is called to the fact that it is preferred to provide the lever 12 with two openings, one for the purpose of securlng the block and lock mechanism in the lowermost position of adjustment in order to lock the lever against its normal use for controlling the transmission mechanism of the automobile, and the other when the lock mechanism and block are in the raised or inactive position, this last opening being designated while the lower opening is designated 52. The'openings in the block which the bolt 24 enters when in the locking position are respectively designated 53 and 54, while the openings in the parts 29 and 32 are respectively designated 55 and 56.

'The portion of the locking bolt where the circumferential groove 42 is located is formed slightly larger than the part 57 extending forwardly therefrom'to its outer eX- tremity which is provided with a cap 58'. The opening 56 in the outer or top plate 32 is provided with a bnshing'59 which is exteriorly flanged and secured in place by screws 60. This bushing forms a stop to 'prevent the endwise removal of the bolt 7 when the locking disks 39 are adjusted to permit endwise movement. The bolt is further providedwith a second circumferential groove 51 which may be engaged by the locking disks 39 when the bolt is moved forwardly or outwardly a sufficient distance for the purpose. In other words, one or more of the locking disks may be called to engage the groove 51 to prevent further outward movement of the bolt ifthis should be desirable. V

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A block adapted to slide on a member Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Washington, I). 0..

to be locked against movement and having an opening adapted to register with an opening inthe member when the block is properly adjusted, a lock casing having an opening adapted to register with said other openings and having a threaded connection with the block, the center of the openings being eccentric to the axis of rotation of the casing, and a bolt adapted to engage simultaneously all of said openings when in alined position.

2. A block adapted to slide on a member to be locked against movement and having 3 an opening adapted to register with an opening in the member when the block is properly adjusted, a lock casing having an 3. A block adaptedto slide on'a member; to be 'locked'against movement and having an opening adapted to register with an opening in the member when the block is properly adjusted, a lock casing having an a opening adapted to register with" said other openings and having a threaded connection] with the block, the center of the openings being eccentric to the axis of rotation of the casing, a bolt adapted to engage simultane-w ously all of said openings when in alined, position, and permutation devices in the cas-- ing for locking the bolt against endwise movement in the openings. i 4. -A block adapted to slide upon a menuber to be locked against movement and have ing an opening adapted to register with an opening ofthemember when the block is properly adjusted, a lock case also having an opening, the case being rotatable on the block to connect it therewith or disconnect it therefrom, the openings in the block,the member and the casing being all correspondingly offset from the axis of rotation of the case, anda bolt adapted to enter the openings of the member, the block and the" case when the latter is in the proper positlon of rotatable adjustment.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JOHN T. POWERS.

Commissioner of Patents, 

